Press Release

The Government of Japan and UNFPA Sudan sign US$0.6 million contribution agreement for life-saving maternal care

5 February 2023

Khartoum, 5 February 2023 – The Government of Japan and the United Nations Population Fund signed a US$0.6 million contribution agreement to improve access to life-saving maternal health care for over 10,000 of the most vulnerable women and girls affected by conflict, displacement, and floods in Blue Nile state in Sudan.

The ‘Safe Birth Project for the most vulnerable women in crisis affected states in Sudan’ will help strengthen maternal health care services by training health workers and midwives, providing health facilities with life-saving equipment and supplies and installing a solar-power system as a clean energy solution to operate blood transfusion services and Caesarean sections in areas with limited access to power supply. Mobile clinics will also be deployed to provide essential maternal care services in remote areas, while emergency referral systems will be set-up.

The generous contribution from the Government of Japan comes at a very critical time in Blue Nile, where more than 560,000 people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance – 49% of whom are women and girls. Over the course of 2022, the state experienced protracted conflicts and intercommunal violence that displaced over 64,800 people, severe seasonal floods during the annual rainy season and an influx of internally displaced persons and refugees.

In 2023, these multiple factors will continue to hinder access to essential maternal health care services, increase unmet needs for maternal health care, deteriorate health facilities and interrupt referral systems and supply chains.

“UNFPA Sudan is grateful to the Government of Japan for this generous and timely support aiming at improving women's health security as a major contribution to enhancing human security in Blue Nile state. UNFPA is fully committed to ensure effective implementation of this project and documentation of its achievements in support of the advocacy efforts to scale-up the quality of maternal healthcare interventions.” Mr. Mohamed Lemine, UNFPA Representative in Sudan.

Ambassador of Japan to Sudan, H.E. Mr. Takashi Hattori commented, “It is our honor to work with UNFPA Sudan through our project ‘The Safe Birth Project for the Most Vulnerable Women in Crisis Affected States in Sudan’. The Government of Japan has long been a strong advocate of providing maternal health care and universal health coverage worldwide and improving human security globally. Building upon our other projects in the field of maternal healthcare here in Sudan, I sincerely hope that this project would contribute to improving access to basic maternal healthcare for the women in Blue Nile State, and help enhance the quality of maternal healthcare facilities. The objective of this project perfectly aligns with our vision in enhancing human security.”

The Government of Japan and UNFPA will work together to leave no woman or girl behind and to promote maternal and newborn health as a means to further social stability and conflict prevention in Blue Nile.

###